A Reflection on Lookism is an interactive face reading/plastic surgery consultation inspired by gwansang and plastic surgery in South Korea.
In this project, users can visit a simulated plastic surgery clinic website to receive a virtual consultation on how they can improve their fortune. After users select an option of what aspect of fortune they would like to improve, I advise them on how they can manipulate their facial features to improve the respective fortune, based on principles of gwansang. I use real-time face-recognition software to recognize the user’s facial features. Once they manipulate their face accordingly, a before and after image of their face is automatically taken from their webcam.
The consultation itself is held virtually in a tent meant to replicate the tents of many fortune telling stalls in Korea. I modified several elements of the tent to create a more “high-end” feel that a plastic surgery clinic would have. The mix of these two atmospheres is meant to evoke the separate feelings of mystery, intimidation, and confusion one feels when they enter a fortune telling stall or medical clinic.
This project was based on the themes of gwansang, lookism, and plastic surgery in South Korea. Gwansang is the Korean practice of face fortune telling, while lookism is appearance-based discrimination. Despite being separate topics, the three phenomena are indirectly interconnected. Lookism is especially prevalent in Korea’s corporate sphere, and people often feel pressured to fit into specific beauty standards to secure ideal jobs. As a result, many people resort to plastic surgery to fulfill these standards. Simultaneously, Korean face fortune tellers are finding their jobs increasingly difficult because of the growing number of people altering their faces. These fortune tellers feel that they cannot give authentic readings, since people’s natural faces have been changed.
A Reflection on Lookism’s purpose is not only to educate others on gwansang and plastic surgery in South Korea, but also to have people reflect on how appearances have influenced our lives and the overall implications lookism has had on society.
Tags:#Lookism#Virtualinstallation#Koreanculture